4 Undervalued Advertising & Marketing Stocks for Thursday, January 05

By AAII Staff
January 05, 2023
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
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Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Advertising & Marketing industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Latest Advertising & Marketing Stock News

Before choosing which top Advertising & Marketing stock to buy, be sure to conduct proper due diligence: analyze various financial metrics and look at historical data, public statements and news coverage.

The outlook for the advertising subindustry is neutral. There are growth prospects, supported by exposure to emerging market consumers and enhanced digital capabilities on new advertising technologies for data and analytics. However, global economic outlook has been significantly hampered by the global pandemic, precipitating a U.S. (and global) economic recession and some likely pullback of discretionary spending by several marketers. This provides potential for a revenue shortfall in the U.S. and some international markets. With growing share of advertising spending shifting toward the internet and other digital platforms. Despite the decline in traditional ratings, television advertising will likely continue to garner the bulk of the overall spending, thanks in part to marketers looking for mass audiences. In 2020, the S&P Advertising subindustry Index fell 11.5% versus a 15.8% increase for the S&P Composite 1500 Index.

Why Focus on Undervalued Advertising & Marketing Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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4 Undervalued Advertising & Marketing Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Advertising & Marketing industry for Thursday, January 05, 2023. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Advertising & Marketing industry median.

Company Ticker Price/Sales Price/Earnings EV/EBITDA Shareholder Yield Price/Book Value Price/Free Cash Flow Value Grade
Criteo SA (ADR) CRTO 0.75 25.7 6.1 0.9% 1.51 12.3 B
Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR FENG 0.25 na na (500.0%) 0.17 na B
National CineMedia, Inc. NCMI 0.11 na 48.3 39.3% na na B
Thryv Holdings Inc THRY 0.57 6.5 4.3 (0.8%) 1.57 5.6 A

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Criteo SA (ADR)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score CRTO Industry Median
Price/Sales 27 0.75 0.60
Price/Earnings 70 25.7 13.7
EV/EBITDA 30 6.1 7.0
Shareholder Yield 33 0.9% (1.8%)
Price/Book Value 52 1.51 1.53
Price/Free Cash Flow 40 12.3 9.4

Criteo SA is a France-based company specializing in digital performance marketing. Its solution consists of the Criteo Engine, the Company's data assets, access to inventory, and its advertiser and publisher platforms. The Criteo Engine consists of various machine learning algorithms, such as prediction, recommendation, bidding and creative algorithms and the global hardware and software infrastructure. The Criteo Engine delivers advertisements through multiple marketing channels and formats, including display advertising banners, native advertising banners and marketing messages delivered to opt-in e-mail addresses. Advertisements are delivered on all devices and screens, including Web browsers on desktops and laptops, mobile Web browsers on smart phones and tablets, as well as mobile applications. It operates in approximately 90 countries through a network of over 30 international offices located in Europe, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Criteo SA (ADR) has a Value Score of 64, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Criteo SA (ADR)’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.75 compared to the industry median at 0.60, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Criteo SA (ADR)’s stock less attractive for value investors.

Criteo SA (ADR)’s price-earnings ratio is 25.69 compared to the industry median at 13.72. This means it has a higher share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Criteo SA (ADR) less attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Criteo SA (ADR)’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 6.1, when compared to the industry median of 7.0, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Criteo SA (ADR)’s shareholder yield is lower than its industry median ratio of (1.82%). Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Criteo SA (ADR)’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.53. This could make Criteo SA (ADR) more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Criteo SA (ADR)’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Criteo SA (ADR)’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 9.39. This could make Criteo SA (ADR) less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that Criteo SA (ADR) is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score FENG Industry Median
Price/Sales 9 0.25 0.60
Price/Earnings na na 13.7
EV/EBITDA na na 7.0
Shareholder Yield 99 (500.0%) (1.8%)
Price/Book Value 2 0.17 1.53
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 9.4

Phoenix New Media Limited is a media company providing content on an integrated platform across Internet, mobile and television channels in China. The Company enables consumers to access professional news and other information, and upload text and images (UGC) on the Internet and through their mobile devices. It also transmits its UGC and in-house produced content to television viewers primarily through Phoenix TV. In addition to professionally produced content, content from Phoenix TV and its in-house produced content, the Company allows its users to UGC to its Websites and mobile applications. It operates in two segments: net advertising services and paid services. It provides its content and services through channels, including ifeng.com channel, video channel and mobile channel, and also transmits its content to television viewers, primarily through Phoenix TV. Together, these channels form a single converged platform providing integrated text, image and video content.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR has a Value Score of 73, which is considered to be undervalued.

Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.53.

You can read more about Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

National CineMedia, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score NCMI Industry Median
Price/Sales 3 0.11 0.60
Price/Earnings na na 13.7
EV/EBITDA 94 48.3 7.0
Shareholder Yield 1 39.3% (1.8%)
Price/Book Value na na 1.53
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 9.4

National CineMedia, Inc. is a holding company that manages its subsidiary, NCM LLC. It operates cinema advertising network in North America, allowing NCM LLC to sell advertising and certain third-party theater circuits under long-term network affiliate agreements. It is engaged in the sale of advertising to national, regional and local businesses in Noovie, its cinema advertising and entertainment pre-show seen on movie screens across the United States. It sells digital online and mobile advertising through its Noovie Audience Accelerator product, cross its suite of Noovie digital properties, including Noovie Shuffle, Noovie Trivia, and Noovie ARcade, on third party Internet sites, as well as a variety of complementary out of home venues, including restaurants, convenience stores and college campuses. It sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network (LEN), a series of screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

National CineMedia, Inc. has a Value Score of 80, which is considered to be undervalued.

You can read more about National CineMedia, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Thryv Holdings Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score THRY Industry Median
Price/Sales 21 0.57 0.60
Price/Earnings 17 6.5 13.7
EV/EBITDA 18 4.3 7.0
Shareholder Yield 54 (0.8%) (1.8%)
Price/Book Value 53 1.57 1.53
Price/Free Cash Flow 17 5.6 9.4

Thryv Holdings, Inc. is a provider of software as a service (SaaS) end-to-end customer tools and digital marketing solutions to small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs). The Company’s segments include Marketing Services, SaaS, and Thryv International. The Marking Services segment consists of the Company's print and digital solutions businesses. The SaaS segment consists of Company's flagship SMB end-to-end customer experience platform. The Thryv International segment consists of the Thryv Australia business, which is a provider of marketing solutions serving SMBs. Its marketing services include print yellow pages, Internet yellow pages, search engine marketing, and other digital media solutions. Its SaaS segment includes Thryv, Hub By Thryv, Thryv Leads and add-ons, and ThryvPay. Its Thryv platform is its flagship SMB end-to-end customer platform, which includes customer relationship management, omnichannel email and text marketing automation, and scheduling and appointment management.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Thryv Holdings Inc has a Value Score of 84, which is considered to be undervalued.

Thryv Holdings Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 6.5 compared to the industry median at 13.7. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Thryv Holdings Inc more attractive for value investors.

Thryv Holdings Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Thryv Holdings Inc more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.53.

You can read more about Thryv Holdings Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

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Other Advertising & Marketing Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Advertising & Marketing stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 4 Best Advertising & Marketing Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

  • Criteo SA (ADR) stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • National CineMedia, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Thryv Holdings Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 undervalued stocks in the Advertising & Marketing industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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Additional Resources About Advertising & Marketing Stocks

Want to learn more about Advertising & Marketing stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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